Valve’s Steam Box specs revealed, seems like a letdown

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It’s only been a few days since Valve officially announced its entry into the world of hardware, and we’re already getting some interesting new details straight from the horse’s mouth. Today, Valve revealed the official specs for the 300 beta units being developed for testing. While there are no huge surprises here, it does shine a light on what Valve expects gamers to want out of a living room gaming rig.

First and foremost, there isn’t a single static spec — even for the Valve-made beta units. The prototype units will ship with an Intel Core i7-4770, an Intel Core i5-4570, or an unidentified Core i3 CPU. As far as GPUs go, there will be a mix of Nvidia Titan, Nvidia GTX780, Nvidia GTX760, and Nvidia GTX660 models — all with 3GB of GDDR5. All units will ship with 16GB of DDR3-1600 RAM, hybrid 1TB/8GB SSHDs, and a 450w power supply. Impressively, all of this equipment is designed to fit inside a 12-inch x 12.4-inch x 2.9-inch case. Really sleek stuff.

Even though this hardware is what Valve thinks gamers want most, this isn’t what you’re stuck with. Obviously, the Linux-based SteamOS can run on pretty much any decent x86-based PC. Even better, the hardware itself is customizable. If you want to upgrade your CPU, GPU, hard drive, or even your motherboard, you’re encouraged to do so. More so than ever, Valve is planting its flag squarely on the side of flexibility and hackability. Even the controller itself can be completely customized to your liking, so you’re in the driver’s seat.

On the downside, this likely means that you’re going to be paying a pretty penny when real Steam Machines hit the market. Unless Valve and its partners are willing to subsidize these machines, you’ll likely be paying at least double the going rate for a brand new console. Even with the best of intentions, this part of Valve’s plan doesn’t seem to be adding anything exciting to the market. After all, this is just a small case filled with standard, off-the-shelf parts.

If anything, the lower-cost streaming solution Valve has spoken of previously has the most potential. With the rise of quirky streaming gear like the Nvidia Shield and the PS Vita TV, Valve might be in a position to take a nice chunk of this emerging market. Frankly, the full-fledged Steam Machine seems like something of a letdown.

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Naipier

“This is just a small case filled with standard, off-the-shelf parts” is exactly the reason why the systems wont cost a “pretty penny”. Valve is opening up the unit to cover the gamut of what people want: (“from Coomer:
– He reiterated that a “variety of companies” will be making Steam Machines. “Some of those companies will be capable of meeting the demands of lots of Steam users very quickly, some will be more specialized and lower volume. The hardware specs of each of those machines will differ, in many cases substantially, from our prototype,” he said.)
That tells me low cost rigs and high cost rigs depending on what your looking for. That strikes me as a smart move on Valve’s behalf. (Providing credit where credit is due: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/201722/Here_are_the_specs_for_Valves_Steam_Machine_prototypes.php)

Nikola Kostic

I think he was trying to argue how we likely wont see discounts on hardware like we see with consoles.. and yes im kind of bummed about that. Ps3 was initially sold at around 38% loss.. so assuming the 780/i7 model would normally cost maybe $1700 in parts, it is definitely not gonna sell for $1100.

Jason Maki

but parts can be bought cheaper when they are bought in bulk meaning they might have an ongoing deal with nvidia to receive parts in higher amounts for a cheaper price. and keep in mind since not all of the boxes will have the same specs there will be cheaper options for those who don’t want extremely high specs.

Nikola Kostic

Im just hesitant about their choices.. for gaming who needs an i7 4770? You can find an fx8350 for half as much and it isnt even a 5% difference in game performance. Not to mention titan is way overpriced forthe performance. The 290x is gonna cost around 600 and be better than the titan.So for 1500 (retail) you cocould have a pc with a 290x, and if they give us discounts it could retail around 1100..id ddefinitely get that. The point is I want a top end machine but wouldn’t pay much more than that. Paying less for a weaker thing is pointless

http://www.youtube.com/user/no6969el Noel Barcellos

This is the funny part, you can build a system better than the xbox one or PS4 for cheaper.. so are they REALLY subsidizing it?

http://www.youtube.com/user/no6969el Noel Barcellos

This is the funny part, you can build a system better than the xbox one or PS4 for cheaper.. so are they REALLY subsidizing it?

rage

Let’s see it then?

Don’t forget to include optical drive, hard drive, controllers, and the usual things plus 6 core cpu and 8gb ram. Yes let’s have that for 400 or less.

http://www.youtube.com/user/no6969el Noel Barcellos

First off lets calibrate your standard here, the xbox one is 499.99/399.99 so that is the range you should have to build a budget peasant killer. The beauty of it is there are a ton of different combinations some better than others in certain areas but option is the prime element. See one below. And not to mention you have Steam which offers the best video game prices ever. The Steam sale right now can net you a handful of games for even less than the price of one console game.

First off lets calibrate your standard here, the xbox one is 499.99/399.99 so that is the range you should have to build a budget peasant killer. The beauty of it is there are a ton of different combinations some better than others in certain areas but option is the prime element. See one below. And not to mention you have Steam which offers the best video game prices ever. The Steam sale right now can net you a handful of games for even less than the price of one console game.

This all seems horribly fragmented. I can’t really see how this is going to work. The experience from one box to the next is going to vary – wildly. Developers will have to gun for the lowest common denominator and surely that’s not in the best interest for the gamers buying the top equipment tier..

SteveWilson

I don’t see how it will be any different than what is already occurring. That has always been the situation for anyone attempting to play on a pc. More people playing pc games using easily upgradeable systems can surely only be in the best interest for the tiny minority of gamers buying top tier equipment. I would place more faith in the solidity of foresight of perhaps one of the most efficient and entrepreneurial companies of the modern age.

jefferylamontagne321

my Aunty Bailey just got a twelve month old Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet SUV by working part-time off of a laptop… you can try here J­a­m­2­0­.­ℂ­o­m

Zinton

The same system seems to have worked on PC’s for nearly 20 years now.

Willy McBurgle

PC’s are upgradable.

Johnny-Adam Nilsson

This is also upgradable, did you even read about the box or read this article ?

Willy McBurgle

yes – but there will be limits to those upgrades and the upgrades themselves will probably be quite expensive vs traditional PC/upgrade routes which have more choice/options.

Volvo

Has titan inside and best I7> Limited upgrades
You’re obviously the stupid part of the american stereotype

Willy McBurgle

calling me stupid and American – yet I’m not American. Irony

Jason Maki

well you definitely fit the ‘stupid’ part of his arguement

Willy McBurgle

now now – let’s all try to get along.

Leroy jenkins

ignore him willy lol

Leroy jenkins

Volvo

Willy McBurgle

•

a month ago

Has titan inside and best I7> Limited upgrades
You’re obviously the stupid part of the american stereotype

Haha, I am american and you are damn well the stupid one. I not even gonna educate your dumb ass

LinuxRocks

“but there will be limits to those upgrades and the upgrades themselves
will probably be quite expensive vs traditional PC/upgrade routes which
have more choice/options.”

If you spent the time reading the article, you would have noticed the part that read:

“Obviously, the Linux-based SteamOS
can run on pretty much any decent x86-based PC. Even better, the
hardware itself is customizable. If you want to upgrade your CPU, GPU,
hard drive, or even your motherboard, you’re encouraged to do so.”

But with all the sugar intake these days amongst children, its hard to imagine that you can comprehend anything you read past an hour or so, so I understand the momentary lack of reasoning :)…

Willy McBurgle

It’s hard to read that post considering that it’s littered with condescending drivel. Re-write it as an adult and I’ll consider responding.

Sam

What he’s trying to say. Is that how is a pc going to be more expensive than a pc to upgrade?

Willy McBurgle

Then my I’d say- SteamBox is just another brand…so what’s the point?

Thomas M Richardson

PC’s have windows 8, that is a problem.

Greg

PC’s don’t have to run windows 8, in fact this idea from Valve focuses on SteamOS which isn’t windows 8.

Willy McBurgle

Steam doesn’t have to produce their own PC to accomplish that.

Naipier

Considering your display of an obvious inability or
unwillingness to read the article, and the apparent desire to
instead posit presumptuous opinion, devoid of facts, I think
LinuxRocks wrote an appropiate response to your statment.

adriean

but then again on ps4/xbox there ‘s no need to upgrade since the game will be optimised for it… however with the loss of graphics still we don’t need to pay extra

jdavies

right, with sony/MS consoles, you don’t have to upgrade, just buy a whole new system AND catalogue of games when the next gen comes out…genius.

Johnny-Adam Nilsson

I dont understand, do you think this Steambox follows some magic computer standard not yet rlsed and will be very expensive when rlsed ? Cause what this is, is a PC, you can waht ever off the shlef GPU and CPU and put in it, why would that be expensive vs traditional PC upgrades when its the exact same thing, 100% the exact same thing ?

madjr

the lowest common denominator will be consoles, since they will be the outdated ones soon enough.

Anyway don’t think Valve wants to “monopolize” and kill the openness and upgradeability of pc gaming. In fact what they want is to expand it.

Willy McBurgle

by introducing a locked-down box? hmmm

Johnny-Adam Nilsson

Its not locked down, you can do whatever you want.

Willy McBurgle

provided it’s Linux.

jdavies

not even right. it’s just a PC! how can we make it clearer. hardware is not locked down, software is not locked down, you can dual boot windows, or you can just run windows on it anyway. it wouldn’t be a ‘steambox’ if it only had windows, but it would still be a living room pc running steam big picture mode etc, and would be another way that valve’s multitude of developments are helping pc gaming move into the living room. It’s not all one package that you have to take as it comes, it’s multiple developments with an array of possible combinations and uses. All up to the end user.

It’s just a pc. for the living room.

and that’s just their prototype, other steam machine configs could fill all manner of purposes. Even something as simple and minimal as a SteamOS HDMI dongle for streaming from your main gaming pc, and everything in between.

Willy McBurgle

So ‘SteamBox’ is simply a brand name for a PC then.

Greg

It is an open platform, it doesn’t have to be Linux only. Do people really not understand how PCs work? Console mentality is rampant.

joe

lol these jackasses(valve) are just after a slice of pie from Microsoft’s dominance. That’s all…

joe

lol these jackasses(valve) are just after a slice of pie from Microsoft’s dominance. That’s all…

Greg

They are pushing for open standards like Linux and OpenGL. Valve already has a “slice” of Microsoft’s pie with steam on windows. Look at their sales records…..

Greg

They are pushing for open standards like Linux and OpenGL. Valve already has a “slice” of Microsoft’s pie with steam on windows. Look at their sales records…..

madjr

microsoft is the one trying to make an IOS with upcoming windows versions in order to increase their profits, locking down the open ecosystem to a point that you’ll need to jail brake it.

anyway Gabe made the error of making windows too big of a gaming platform and now they want to change that:

The the expand of Windows gaming to Apple gaming and now Linux gaming, I think Gabe made it clear he wants to expand the gaming world.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Windows has been around for awhile and the coding varies from one OS to another. You can’t just say “Hey! This is that and that is this!” It takes time and effort to translate code.

And BTW iOS is Apple’s thing. Microsoft can’t copy that from them. Jailbreaking has been around for quite some time. If you think about it, it’s just modifying the system software to make it run the way you want without limitations. Jailbreaking has been here ever since the need for how you wanted to use your device the way you wanted it.

Welcome to PC gaming? This is DIY Console. Not Steam version of Playstation/Xbox

Phobos

I smell a very high price tag, I think its going to fail. The next gen consoles are around the corner how is steam going to compete against it? specially if they put a high price by the looks of it. I guess the name makes sense steam box, it was just that steam.

Zinton

The entry level models could be as low as 400-500. And plus when you take into a account that games are generally cheaper on pc and that you don’t have to pay for any member ships you’ll save alot of money in the long run. Also don’t forget that other companys are working on steam boxes and they will be competitively priced with each other.

Phobos

We don’t know that yet, but by the looks of the prototypes specs they look pricy. I don’t know why they want to add more consoles to the market as it is, MS, Sony and Nintendo have that cover. If they succeed( I hope they won’t) rest assure that in the near future steam might add some type of membership its only a matter of time.

madjr

They don’t want to “add” , they want to “subtract” share from msft / sony ;)

Consoles are Always trying to take some of the best features from PC, like the x86 architecture, hardware, etc.

So why Can’t Valve/pc take some of their stuff too? Gamepad, Super simple setup, etc.

They want to keep and introduce more people to PC gaming by creating a new Hybrid category.

In the end consoles are now the same thing as a “Mid range computer”.

And believe me “mid range” will be the “Bulk” of the Steam Machines sold.

Also if you have been a PC gamer or builder, You’ll know that every year many Computer parts / GPUs can go down by up to 50%.

Anyway, I doubt they wanted to lock down steam or obligate you to pay. Is why they chosen to have all their platform open (OS, hardware, gamepad, etc), hackable and moddable friendly. Unlike Sony which used Linux for the PS3 and even let you boot up to the desktop, but then they feared people would “hack” their own machines, install apps/games not in the PSN and so they locked down everything…

Msft and sony want to limit you, Windows 9/10 will soon be like IOS/ Iphone/ Xbox where they charge, control everything and people will need to jail brake it.

Valve has foreseen this and is why they want to keep tech / gaming open.

Phobos

yet the funny thing is that everything that steam wants to offer in their steam box you can do that already on the pc so why bother?

madjr

Actually not really. Did you read everything?

Valve made windows a gaming platform and let it become too big and now msft wants to lock everything up and profit from that.

If you cut that out of the math and some other parts you can get to the $500 mark.

You can cut down the 120gb ssd from that list too, which is needed for how bloated windows gets. Valve is going to use just 8gb sdd, for the OS and Cache/swap.

Valve is also trying to get OEMs to compete in this new hybrid area. Kinda how google got vendors to further cut costs / bloat and make ChromeOS laptops more affordable. Chromebooks were also attacked, but now they’re shipping more and more, I got my Dad one and he’s happy with it.

In conclusion Valve doesn’t want to limit what you do. This is for a new type of audience and maybe they should had started years ago, however is not too late.

I would at least give them a year or 2 before we judge or criticize. They don’t really have nothing to lose by doing this but most likely a lot to gain (specially independence).

Phobos

First they need to get the developers to ditch windows and I don’t see that happening anytime soon, now can they live side by side I really don’t know or how well it would work out. Second say that it works but what would be the point in the games if they happen to be console ports again? Its like if we just got out of a hole and land on another one.

madjr

Where did you heard they had to ditch?

All the major Game Engines, should be already working on SteamOS (Unreal engine, Unity3d, Unigine, CryEngine, Source engine, etc.) So making most games available will be basically a click away.

Greg

Its not about ditching Windows right now, maybe in the long run, but ditching Directx is fundamental for SteamOS. The reason Windows doesn’t have to abandoned immediately is because if SteamOS get devs attention then the OpenGL would be the standard for game creation, and that also runs on Windows.

Justin Mustful

You can run windows games on Linux now with emulators. Im sure Valve thought of this and have the ability to play all those games on Steam OS or they wouldn’t have made the investment.

Greg

While many games can be emulated on Linux using software like Wine, it isn’t ideal. Emulators do not grant the same performance like native software, this means they take a performance hit relative to frames per second. Its good this option is available at the beginning but if Valve manages to get someone to develop a AAA game for SteamOS I can guarantee you it will be OpenGL. That means porting it to other platforms such as Windows wont a problems since OpenGL is Open Standard and not limited to one platform, unlike DirectX.

Bottom Line…Open Standards are the future.

quidpro

Can you build your own Playstation? Or Xbox?

Phobos

and your point?

quidpro

Seriously? My point? What’s your answer? That’s my point.

Phobos

I only made on question and no answer has been given, again what’s your point with “can you build a PlayStation or Xbox?

Willy McBurgle

why would you? Spending money for nothing – you might as well just invest in a normal PC

quidpro

I already have a self built PC. Why would I build another windows box?

Greg

If your referring to the SteamBox, the emphasis here is Linux. Linux is not windows.

Guest

no – but I can build my own PC and it’ll probably give me better performance for less money than this

quidpro

And the choice is still there to do that. And you can plug your big ass tower into your TV in the living room and that’s great. This is another option. Not a requirement.

Phobos

technically what you are saying is that you want your ass in the couch and play pc games, yeah that doesn’t work very well I prefer to sit in front of my desktop and use a keyboard and mouse(yes there are wireless kb and mousses its not the same).

jdavies

good for you. loads of other people will like the idea of living room sofa gaming though, kinda obvious seeing how popular consoles are don’t you think?. There’s plenty of games on steam that are suitable to playing with a pad, and even those better suited to m/kb should be playable on the new steampad. You don’t want to game on a sofa with your feet up, that’s your choice. But more to the point, steamOS + steampad means you can do both. they’ve given us all the freedom to choose how we play.

Greg

Making a steam box is just a way to push the linux/steamOS to developers and consumers. It helps to have a tangible object to get peoples attention, but the overall emphasis I think Valve is pushing is not for millions and millions of people to have piston pc/SteamBox, but to have Linux/SteamOS which is an open platform independent of Microsoft and their monopoly on the gaming industry, namely DirectX.

Phobos

It makes little difference if in the end the developers just make console ports.

jwn0001

You are right….not sure how Xbox or psx could compete with this model. Looks like more bad news for Redmond again.

Thomas M Richardson

They should call this site Extreme Xbox, whats disappointing about an i7 with an Nvidia graphics card when the next gen shitboxes have slower AMD’s with graphics integrated inside their CPU’s?.

Willy McBurgle

nothing – but my Buddy’s PC can do everything this one can on less money and it can also run any OS you want.

quidpro

You can say that about any PC when comparing pre-built to self built. Maybe get your buddy to make and sell steamboxes.

Willy McBurgle

Or a more practical dual-boot system – yeah

Willy McBurgle

If by ‘steambox’ – you mean building a PC, slapping a label on it, pre-installing SteamOS and selling it for a premium – yeah sure, why not.

didibus

You mean like Alienware PCs?

This is just valve making a standard controller for PC games and making a free os to run the games on so that the direction of windows don’t affect PC games anymore.

TjaldidTjaldid

I don’t think this is a failure/letdown since most gaming rigs (at least where I live) come with pretty terrible parts there could be 2 out of three good parts but never all of them also this will spark competition, plus most if not all gaming rigs are unnecessarily huge they all assume that you are going to have 2 disc drives/HDD/graphics card and all sort of outdated outputs instead of keeping it simple and having just one for each (let alone offering a version with no option for a disc drive)

Volvo

Obviously this stupid article is funded by EA

lesrima88

yeah an i7 processor,16gb ram,a gtx titan, very disappointing…/s

Elem187

Lmao! it’s almost 6x faster than a ps4

spigzone

“Impressively, all of this equipment is designed to fit inside a 12-inch x 12.4-inch x 2.9-inch case. Really sleek stuff.”

I think the we will see embedded RAM and the Nvidia chip will be installed using something similar to the CPU socket. Imagine something like LGA1150 for the GPU instead of a PCIE slot.

spigzone

Valve said ‘off the shelf’ parts would be used.

spigzone

Valve said ‘off the shelf’ parts would be used.

runt1me

Better graphics, upgradable, more general purpose, much cheaper games, massive back catalogue, quick point of sale, pc peripherals, displays, web browsing, streaming your movie collection/music, editing, programming, emulating previous incarnations of consoles and computers and the 100s of 1000s of games/apps available to them..

Better than MS locking down & killing the pc off and only being able to afford a handful of games, no?

thomas kostis

in a world with 700 $ phones being normal i dont see why a 700$ gaming machine would be a big deal

chamber25

Reality is that it’s a different market, where phones are considered a necessity in daily life while gaming is still a smaller market and considered a luxury or a hobby. Truth is the more expensive you get the smaller piece of the gaming market you likely be able to target.

Justin Mustful

a 700$ phone is not a necessity in life, you can get a necessity phone for under 50$

Myles

So has Steam pretty much just become another boutique PC manufacturer like Alienware? If you can get it with whatever hardware you want why would I not just use any gaming PC?

Greg

In my opinion this is just their way of pushing Linux as a platform for gaming. That’s why SteamOS isn’t limited to their hardware.

Myles

Then why release hardware at all? Would it not be pretty much the same thing to tell people SteamOS as a free, gaming (when games are ported to Linux) alternative to Windows that they can put on their current hardware?

Greg

Well, there is a history with Linux and Windows, and why one has trumped the other. Ease of access. People can buy a PC with windows ‘pre-installed’…when it comes to getting an OS there’s nothing easier than just plugging that tower in and booting up without installation hassles. Anyway here is a link to a vid where Linus Torvalds (creator of Linux) talks about why Linux hasn’t been successful on desktops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFKxlYNfT_o

This is why I think there is a hardware push from Vavle, they’re trying to make Linux easily accessible.

Greg

Well, there is a history with Linux and Windows, and why one has trumped the other. Ease of access. People can buy a PC with windows ‘pre-installed’…when it comes to getting an OS there’s nothing easier than just plugging that tower in and booting up without installation hassles. Anyway here is a link to a vid where Linus Torvalds (creator of Linux) talks about why Linux hasn’t been successful on desktops. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFKxlYNfT_o

This is why I think there is a hardware push from Vavle, they’re trying to make Linux easily accessible.

don681

I think a lot of people don’t get the idea behind all of this.

Imagine Sony releasing the source code for the PS4 OS and at the same time, allowed you to upgrade the APU inside each PS4 box. That’s whats valve is doing here.

You have to remember that although the box will be a standard PC, you are not gonna be running Windows 8 on it. You will be running an OS that’s tweaked specifically for that combination of hardware. You also have a AAA game developer behind all this, probably developing Source2 — a next gen game engine that probably is tweaked specifically to run best with the OS and hardware combination.

PS4 and Xbox1 are X86-64 machines. Guess what, Valve’s baby is X86-64 too. Imagine Valve releasing a Source2 game and making it multiform, where would it run best?

Want a thought that would really cook your noodle? Look-up what engine Titanfall is running.

chamber25

I think the whole point of console gaming is that it gives you an affordable option with out all the hassle of upgrading every year or 2. Not to mention console technology while it may seem lack luster to PC gamers always punches above its weight once developers get a handle on how to maximize the hardware cause they don’t have to worry about different configurations. Look what developers with 512mgs of ram.

Elem187

Why would you need to upgrade every year? A $500 steambox will run circles around the ps4. Why would you need to upgrade it? PC hardware doesn’t just get slower as it ages, it will still be outclassing the ps4 10 years from now.

I think you have this all confused with enthusiasts who like to upgrade to the latest and greatest every 6 months. There is absolutely no requirement to upgrade so often…… But do you think buying just one box every 7 to 8 years is ideal that can’t be upgraded? Sounds like a waste.

You can lay down $500 for the steambox today, and have a better gaming system than the ps4, when Sony upgrades to a ps5, you have to lay down another. $400-$500 to upgrade. The guy with the steambox just needs to replace the GPU with something faster than the GPU Sony will choose for $200…… Long term you will spend less money with a steambox, because of this. Not to mention all the money you save by not paying for multiplayer gaming like ps4/xBone. Also PC games are always cheaper than its console counter parts. You will save a lot more money ditching the consoles.

Gibo

Sounds cool but it also sounds like i can build my own. I am looking into building smaller PC, one that can go next to my living room TV. If its cheaper to buy steam box compared to building one myself then i will be very interested.

Phil

Vapid article claims you’ll pay “at least double” the cost of a new console… and then fails to provide any numbers for this.

Devin Wolfe

$900-$1,000 for the lowest Steambox well over $1,700 for the highest tier based on prices of parts. These are base prices for the parts them selves minus tax, inflation, and the need for a profit.

These will not be console killers just another pre-built gaming pc just like Cyberpower Alienware, and Ibuypower.

If they want to lower the price and keep the power go with AMD parts and not overly priced Intel and Nvidia products.

Phil

“providing numbers” means providing them for each of the parts. Some friends ran the numbers for the mid range box and it came through under $900. So maybe you have a terrible supplier.

Elem187

You are providing newegg numbers. Gabe is saying roughly $500 for the lowest tier, but hey keep making numbers up out of your buttocks,

Devin Wolfe

Says I’m stating newegg numbers, then says I pull the number from my ass. So which is it guy get your story straight.

thehypothetical

Valve explains how it’s all meant to work anyway. If you want a cheap PC to game on you can do that too. Comparing a Titan computer to a Jaguar APU computer is irrelevant really.

Elem187

The jaguar apu is much closer to a tablet than it is to the lowest rung of steambox.

Joe

How the fuck is this a let down

Greg

Because the author of this article really likes his original GameBoy and rejects all other technology.

Elem187

I’m scratching my head too. Even the lowest end of the steambox will run circles around the ps4, let alone the even slower xBone.

660 GTX, i3 will absolutely cream the jaguar and mobile Radeon 7850….. It’s not even close.

chamber25

Can the steamOs play any windows game? isn’t it a derivative of Linux?
If it can only play linux games what assurances does anyone even have of support from 3rd party developers especially since they are in the middle of crossgen developing

thehypothetical

You can already play a crap ton of steam games on linux as it is, maybe you could start looking into it there? :P

Shanghaidilly

There’s only about 200 games on steam right now that are Linux compliant. Out of those 200, only a handful are AAA titles, and all of those are older games. The rest are Indie titles.

I think chamber25 raises a good question – Where is the commitment from AAA publishers/developers for Steam OS moving forward? And what commitment do we have that the current titles on Steam, some 3,000 games, will be back-ported to Steam OS? Without these commitments, the streaming option seems the only viable one.

Elem187

Derivative? Linux is similar to unix, not windows.

But games made for Linux outperform the same game in windows because how much bloat Microsoft likes to stuff into their operating system,

jwn0001

You are missing the point. This is true open source! Instead of a top heavy 3d graphics rig for side scroller games, you can have a budget platform. Dont like the controller, 3d print your.own. Long term way cheaper and accessible than typical consoles.

JenniferShen

as Kathy responded I’m alarmed that a person can get paid $8615 in one

m­o­n­t­h on the i­n­t­e­r­n­e­t. read review, BIG44.­c­o­­m

*you’resuchanoob

I don’t know, if I had a computer with an i7 4770, Nividia Titan, and 16 GB of RAM, I’d be pretty excited.

JaniceLandis

My Brother Earn $1450 Form Internet Go For More …… Big44.­c­o­m

BulldogsRUs

Did he ‘earn’ it banging his sister?

crazypearce

the main problem I can see with the steam box is that most people considering one will already have a decent pc. why buy something which is basically another pc? it offers nothing new for many people.

personally, I buy a console to play console only games. things such as Destiny, GTAV, inFamous, The Last of Us, God of War, Halo, Gears, all of which are great games but also not available if you do not own a console.

buying a steam box will not give me access to those games. it will just let me play games which I can already play through my pc. it’s a great idea but I’m not sure where it can fit into the market, unless it’s able to be sold at a considerably lower price than the parts for a self built pc.

Enough Popup Bullshit

(1) Most people already have a dedicated PC, or Laptop in their house for work,email etc.
(2) Many people already have a tablet for pleasure, some work related material.
(3) Those who game already have a console, or will have a console by the new year.

***(4)*** You’re not going to have these people rushing out and spending over $1,000+ on a strictly gaming device. Or, even $600+ for that matter.

Look, the ps4 and xbone are suitable for their gaming purpose at that price range. With the exception of PC hardcore enthusiasts, what gamer is going to rush out and spend that kind of money on a device who’s sole purpose is video games? Yes, there are those who will gladly attach a $1,000+ Steambox to their television, yet those people will not be enough to keep that Steambox alive. Any lesser model? Why bother.

Jabslacked

Why is every steam machine related article I find on this website trying to flag it down as a failure?

Sean Hayden

PS4 is smaller and more powerful.
It is a letdown.

SgtZER0

What?!

Sean Hayden

You heard me. The PS4 is a smaller console, it is more powerful than the steambox, based on comparison of the specs.
The steambox is a letdown, the NAME is a letdown in and of itself.

xebb

This is pure peasantry going on right here. Dated “NEXTGEN” (how can someone even call PS4 & X1 nextgen lol) hardware already blows and it’s not even out yet.

It may be smaller, but it damn sure does not have even 1/4 of power than Steambox has. PC will always be superior, you just have to deal with it.

Paying 500$ once to play for next 10 years on LOW settings with 720P upscaled to 1080 sure is a lot better than having a real gaming beast that you can upgrade anytime, while runing 1080p or 4k (Real Nextgen).

If someone will tell me that human eye can’t tell the difference between 720 and 1080 I’ll strangle you.

and tell me how you can’t tell a difference. Silly peasants have really lost it.

Sean Hayden

You don’t listen.

I’m talking about the starting specs of the Steambox compared to the PS4 you imbecile. And you are off on so many counts I’m surprised not surprised because you’re just another “PEECEE MASTUR RAICE” guy who doesn’t even look up anything.

-PS4 is $400.
-Low settings? Go download the KZ Shadow Fall gameplay and watch it as it would look on your computer.
-It is a requirement for developers to make games at 1090p native on PS4, just as full-fledged games are required to have trophies.
-I’m not talking about the Xbox One, which is all of the things you stated.

Gtfo pc tech scrub.

xebb

It looks blurry as all that comes from Sony, good luck with your console, peasant. No one needs you in PC community with thoughts like that.

Lol. You didn’t even download the gameplay. It looks REAL. Just like Crysis 3, except the foliage is better and the effects and particles are more intense.

And when you talk about blur, you mean motion blur like there is in your high end PC games like Crysis 3 on Ultra? There isn’t motion blur in KZ, because it disorients people.

You are either blind or are stunned by the graphics and don’t want to look like an idiot.

Elem187

Keep drinking the Sony kool aid. The ps4 is a low end gaming device.

Sean Hayden

Obviously haven’t seen Killzone Shadow Fall in 1080p native at 60fps with 24 enemies on screen without dropping framerate.

Imbecile.

Elem187

Lmao. Dude, the ps4, if we believe Sony themselves, is a 1.8teraflop device. The lowest rung of the steambox will run circles around it.

A GTX 660 has far more processing power than that mobile Radeon 7850 they are putting into the ps4…. Look at the cheapo tablet CPU (1.6ghz) going into the ps4. Even that lowly i3 will run circles around the jaguar.

Where do you get your information from? Because hardware specs certainly isn’t your strong suite

Gabe Obren

I may get one just so I don’t have to deal with windows OS. I think for me I like the fact its so damn small. Just will have to see how much the hardware costs and how the OS works.
Steam Box is the under dog in the game world but may have a chance. Just will need more info before I can make up my mind ether way.

Andreas Persson Fondell

They are obviously testing the machine to see what works and what doesn’t so stop being such tech fags and stop your whining. Valve has already guaranteed 1080p/60fps on all titles on the Steam Box so there’s no need to cry about the specs.

Add to that, with parts having about a 600% mark-up it’s not hard to get them cheaper when buying in bulk, if you, for example, own a company that’s about to produce thousands and thousands of game systems.

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